Tracking the Tigers with MLB.com beat writer Jason Beck.

Sunday: Tigers vs. Yankees

Same as yesterday, except the Tigers now have at least one more hitter available on the bench with Matt Young called up. Not sure whether Alex Avila might be available to hit; he was going to test out his right hamstring this morning.

On the Bronx Bombers side, Alex Rodriguez gets a day at DH. Eric Chavez starts at third.

67 Comments

Pretty amazing day by Cabby yesterday. Especially considering the personal frustrations from popping up the 1st pitch in the 1st inning with Berry on and then getting thrown out at 3rd later. I know those things can negatively affect a player’s performance for the whole of the game. To his credit he has the ability to overcome this and get back to work. Impressive.
Very difficult day in store for Justing today. His side will not likely be able to score too many runs for him (unle WE are able to get a couple of 3 run Homers for a change), so he will have to be at his very best.

Boesch doesn’t have the patience to wait for a Big Mac at the Drive-Thru.
The 1st pitch swinging is resulting in over swinging.
Again-where is Legendary Lloyd here? He could tweak the batting stance a little. His stance is very spread out, Closing that up a bit might give hi a little better timing. He’s either way underneat the ball or on top of it. This is a guy who needs to center the ball to be effective. Most of this is a result of overswinging.
He really needs to sit but the club does not have the luxury of doing that right now.

This is a Tiger fan’s worse nightmare, JV on an off day. How can you even remotely think you will even be in the game let alone coming out on top?

Hughes has a 5+ ERA and we are sleep walking through at bats.
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JV is feeling the pressure. He knows his boys wont score. He has seen this movie before.
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I don’t understand why this team cannot take a big win and springboard it into some kind of streak. This has heppened over and over again this year.
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Wake up, boys. It is June !!!!!
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— Bob

Yikes–a triple on a ball that is caught on one hop?
Then a bad throw and no backup—a dysfunctional team defined.
And Santos looks like he ig oing to be a fine career minor league catcher.
Verlander had a bad one but that doesn’t mean the whole team needs to as well.

Disgusted. At my nephews graduation so I didn’t get to see this debacle mercifully. I’m guessing Verlander was aweful and the hitters were aweful. I know Justin can’t. Be the man all the time and sometimes they need to pick him up, but he has been way less than Ace his last few outings. Disgusted by each and everyone of the hitters, Phil Hughes ain’t that good. I can’t say the word I am thinking right now.

Today we saw some very stupid hitters. The umpire had a strike zone the size of a gnat seen through the wrong end of a telescope. The Yankee hitters adjusted almost immediately. Our guys never did. Our guys spent all day swinging at pitches that wouldn’t have been called strikes. What’s the excuse for such a non-thinking approach to hitting?
I thought Verlander would be thrown off by the pre-game stuff, but only for an inning. Not an entire game. Then again, the strike zone (did I say it was small?) was not in the favor of a great pitcher. Shrinking it evens the odds.
One can sit back and assume we’ll get hot at some point, but that won’t happen unless we make it happen. That falls on everyone in that dugout.
In the end, it will be blamed on injuries, you can bet on it, even though we played two months of bad baseball with everybody on the field and healthy.
Our bullpen has improved…….as everything else gets worse. Typical.

Boesch is becoming a totally irrelevant contributor to a very weak lineup. You could almost survive a few days without Jackson and Dirks, if Big B were doing more than seeing 2 pitches per at bat. When he sees three, it usually means a K for the opposing pitcher. On such a fantastic day in Detroit tiger history, a great pitching performance, along with timely hitting was expected. Neither showed up. I think we are truly at critical mass.

The 2008 team, after a horrendous start, worked hard to get back into the race, finally getting there around the end of July before falling back for good. This year’s team has done nothing similar. There has been no good baseball at any point so far, even during the 9-3 start. Every win is a monumental struggle.
We might lay off them some because of the injuries IF they had played well before the injuries happened. No one is in any mood for sloppy baseball.

I doubt they could win a series against Toledo the way they are playing. Been a long time when this Blog has failed to get lifted after a win, knowing today will surely follow.
Is Valverde forming a rock band or something after this season? I am getting old but he sure is looking a manicured git these days.

We have played fifty-four games which equals one third of our schedule. Last year we had a record of 28-26 and this year we are 25-29 so I guess we are three games behind last year’s pace. Should we go to the top of the GM HQ Building one by one and jump off??. I don’t think so. Can we win the division?? Absolutely. Will it be difficult?? Yes, it could. The White Sox look like they could be a scrappy bunch. Also, it does not appear as though the Indians, Royals, or Twins will roll over and just give the title to the Sox or us. Will injuries do us in?? Only if we let them. GOOD TEAMS always overcome injuries.

I’d opt to jump off the Penobscot Building because it’s my favorite. Reading the comments here, no one seems to be saying the season is over. Everyone is saying the Tigers are playing poorly because they are. It’s easy to say they will turn it around, but that’s predicting the future. We seem to be wisely not going there. I haven’t changed my opening day prediction of winning the division.
I do think one can’t compare records from this year to last year. Teams are performing differently, at least Detroit and Chicago are. We definitely won’t win anything if we don’t improve, and everyone is waiting for that to happen and not having much fun doing so. Hard to make positive comments on negative events. It’s like saying Iwo Jima was a rip roarin’ good time.

We all knew this team had holes in it at the beginning of the season, and they are all becoming too apparant. We knew this team would have shabby defense, but everyone said that it wouldn’t matter-the offense would be so good it would make up for it. Well, guess, what, the offense is just as bad. The starters are hanging in there, but the bullpen is a mess for the most part, and our closer is the complete opposite of last season. I like Fielder, but the money they used on him could have gotten a real second baseman, another quality arm, and 1-2 hitter.
–Mikehttp://burrilltalksbaseball.mlblogs.com

OK-JL is getting frustrated. Join the club.
But:
Is he right to pick on the LHB (aside from Prince as quoted) singling out Boesch, Kelly and Berry.
That’s downright BS. He feels he can take his managerial status to criticize these guys and leaving the blame off of how lousy the RHB have been?
He’s picking on people and he’s picking on people with low salaries and little chance at rebuttal. Kelly? The guy has been languishing on the bench! Berry? The guy finally had a game without a hit in starting his career–you expect him to get one up in the wind Leyland? Boesch? This the kid you throw to the wolves every year. You bat him 5th behind Cabby and watch him dissolve under the pressure. You play him game after game even when it’s clear he needs direction, not expectation and pressure.
You want to criticize someone? Look no further than yourself and your buddy Lloyd.
You only notice what’s going wrong with your team when you watch them on TV.
You blame the team’s misfortunes on 3 guys and say little overly critical about, Raburn, Peralta and Young. Peralta and Young have had as serious an impact on this teams record as anyone.
We have guys that don’t know how to field their position (pretty much the whole relief staff and Fielder, how to have a decent at bat EVERY time to the plate, and a team that has maybe 3 guys that can go from 1st to 3rd on a single to deep right center or down the RF line. You are managing a bad team made up of successful ball players.
I wish you could learn to keep your mouth shut when it comes to using the media at your players’ expense.
This is a cluster bomb. It’s far bigger than Boesch, Kelly and Berry.
Pretty soon it will be Santos, Worth, and Matt Young thrown under the bus.
You should be ashamed of yourself.
Time to retire. I’d much rather see Brookens taking over this team before your players don’t even want to play for you for fear of being scapegoated at the expense of their higher paid peers.

I guessed I missed JL’s comments re lh hitters. Kelly’s hardly played this year and “don’t get too excited about Berry” according to JL is about all I’ve heard. Oh, and holes in the lineup. I really dislike when Jim,, in his post-game interviews, tells the media to go talk to so-and-so about their performance (you’ll have to ask him). As far as Verlander yesterday, maybe his shoulder was sore and he forgot to to take his Bayer aspirin. Now, Quintin Berry may regress to the mean, but he’s been just about the most exciting player (aside from Miggy’s bombs) we’ve witnessed this year. Joel Zumaya had that kind of excitement and spark that the fans just love. We lost our real leader and manager of this team when Victor went down.
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Seems my comparison to the 2008 team doesn’t sit too well with some and that’s OK. When I say that my meaning is: and, I said it several times in ’08, the manager has lost the team.
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Go Tigers!!!!!!

I missed all last 2 games, glad I missed yesterday, although I did dvr the pregame so I could see Magg. Looking good dude, I miss him terribly and am so glad he got such a great sendoff. I wish we could do the same for Carlos. I even shed a tear, such a sentimental person than I am.

I am glad they don’t play tonight, gives me a chance to have a few games of not watching. We are going to cinci on Saturday for their game and based on the schedule, does that mean JV should be pitching? Surely he can’t have another bad game in a row.

The time for change is past actually. The problem is what to change it to.
There isn’t much. When Quintin Berry is the top minor league alternative (for outfield) in your system it really says something about your system.
The problems on this team have always centered on the lack of team speed and athleticism. The middle of our lineup is so cumbersome on the bases that the team can’t generate offensive excitement without hitting it over the wall. And we all have seen WHEN we hit balls over the wall.
Our infield is poor. Face it. The best guy out there is probably Cabby. If Santiago can’t be “an everyday ballplayer” then what the heck will Worth ever be? Well I can tell you what he shouldn’t be–and that is our regular 2nd baseman.
Peralta is sure handed but he gets his hands on very little and is part and parcel of the reason the Tigers are last in turning DPs.
Prince is not even an average fielding 1st baseman. Every ball hit there becomes an adventure. He has no confidence in cutting down the lead runner and is awkward flipping the ball to any pitcher who remembers to cover 1st.
Our outfielders now are (as a group) powerless. They will supply virtually no RBIs. Santos as a catcher is almost what we would expect Don Kelly to be able to do there.
I have some suggestions.
Get rid of Delmon Young. He is a rally killer who clogs up the bases when he does get on AND he can’t help defensively. What’s the point?
Get Boesch some help-if Lloyd can’t see what we all see then let Durham do it in Toledo. Call up Eldred.
Get a veteran influence with a proven track record of success to have on your bench. Kelly, Worth really can’t be expected to be anything but stop gap/emergency type replacements.
If Turner, Oliver, Crosby, Smyly have to be traded —so be it.
Next-get these guys in shape. All these hammy injuries are indicative of poor physical preparation. You might want to actually spend a little time with some fundamental fielding drills instead of taking the same bad swings over and over in batting practice. And Stick a fistful of cigarettes in Leyland’s mouth to avoid any post game interviews. They are getting
Tiresome and acerbic. They are not going to help his players but will only lead to disillusionment. And yes, dissension

You mean by next season, right?
Of all the firstbaseman who plays it as their regular position, Prince might be the worst I’ve ever seen. I’d have to go back to someone like Jim Gentile to find another. This is a shame because the position can be learned. I had low expectations but I’ve been shocked by his play over there.

Of course. That’s about the last thing you want to be taking.
Again, it’s got to be too much weight lifting and not enough stretching, or not stretching properly. And not just our team. Hamstring and core injuries didn’t use to be this common.

These guys are 1 game from falling into 4th place which is likely by mid-week. In hindsight, the Fielder acquisition was not a good one. Mr. I could have used the $$MM on a solid hitting & fielding 3B and a Kinsler-type 2B. He probably would have had several million left over for a decent #5SP, although Below could fit the bill.

Not much has gone right for this team this season with all the injuries, blown saves, blown holds, lack of run support, too many LOB and sloppy defense! I feel a trade in the works, just don’t know what who is available this early in the season for the additional $$$ Mr. I will have to dish out?

Marco Scutaro is not young but he plays good defense in 2b.He doesnt hit when playing SS or 3B but he can play them too. Beside him only Caroll is available .Aron Hill could be available but Detroit passed on him when he was a free agent.
Of course the main problem is the Tigers farm system is depleted. Not everyday you can get a Cabrera for a broken arm and a future unfulfilled promise.
Heynman said the one of the catchers in AA could be the trade chip because Avila is a lock. But he does not look healthy enough.
The main seller will be the Twins and DD wont give anyone that could hurt the Tigers in the future even is the future is far away from Target Field

Was looking at the draft order, Tigers don’t even have a draft pick until 91. So we have very little in the farm system and I’m guessing no pick until 91 because DD traded everything away? So what has DD done. Appearently very little.

They lost the first pick for Fielder.The second one for Dotel.Brewers also have a second pick thanks to Detroit but it is a sandwich pick between the first and second round so the Tigers did not lose it . They are at the end of the order beacuse of their record last year, fourth best in MLB

Rich, I think this team has some guys who could or should be leaders. JV should be a leader. Cabby and Fielder should be leaders. The problem isn’t with the leaders. The problem is with the followers—they haven’t done squat.

Not that we were ever going to be a thoroughbred but this team is slowly but surely turning into a camel. With fewer sellers than normal for the July deadline, I doubt we have any product at AAA that would entice the trades needed for this team. We also have to be close enough and not scrapping with Kansas to make it worthwhile for Mr I. to pour more milliions into the team.
Provided Justin is healthy, Valverde is healthy (and takes a good look at himself) and two of Young, Boesch and Raburn hit regularly for power (Boesch and Raburn could hopefully swap at Toledo in a week or two), we can still make a go of this years division.

My comment above was in reply to Tiger Fan. Not sure if a new manager will make a difference at this point but it could. The real problem first lies with the well below average defense. Infield range has got to rank near the bottom. Has to be frustrating and an annoyance to the pitchers. Note facial expressions and body language of Verlander. Couple that with the slow baserunning, and inability to generate clutch runs, and no reasonable amount of power can overcome it. It’s Turtleville and they’re laying Terapin eggs all over the place.
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Say what you will about Berry not being the answer, (I didn’t say he was), but at least the guy is generating some wind out there. I mean, it’s refreshing to see a player on our team move above a pedestrian pace on the base paths. When he’s running I can even take off my special glasses. Without him we may not even have won the 5 games, or whatever, in the last 2 weeks. If things don’t turn around WE could or at least should end up being the sellers by trade deadline. Considering the depleted farm and poor positioning in this year’s draft, maybe that would be a good thing. Can you imagine this team in 2-3 years? And all the money it’s already on the hook for. Could all will be well when injured players return? It’s about our only hope this year.
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Could Benoit become the closer? Unlike Valverde, he looks like he has a plan when he’s pitching.

Marty, I see we haven’t lost that knack for posting at the same time. Eerie.
A mid-season managerial change could muck things up worse than they are. Or have the opposite effect (really went out on a limb there, didn’t I?). I think the team is young enough to be okay in 2-3 years, after some fine tuning.
The later it gets, the less this becomes an actual prediction, but the schedule is more favorable in the second half, and hopefully the injuries will cease. I think we make a run, and would like to stay within 5 games until that happens. This club can’t possibly do another two months like the first two. It just doesn’t happen.

Regarding leaders, I’m thinking of guys who help a team maintain a mental toughness when things go badly, keep things from spriraling out of control, etc.
Verlander is definitely a leader of the pitching staff, and somewhat of a team leader.
Cabrera, bless him, just wants to win games and have fun and I think Prince might be the same way.
Avila is in position to become a team leader, but he’s in his third season. He eventually will provide that quiet lead by example quality.
Santiago doesn’t get enough PT to be the guy. Peralta too introverted. Jackson, Boesch, Dirks, all too young. Our true veteran is actually Laird. The rest are peripheral personnel. Valverde is the loudest, but that’s all.
Obviously I’m not in the clubhouse or traveling with them, but this is how it looks from the outside. Yeah, when a team goes poorly, people become amateur psychologists.

Well Rich, I hope you’re closer to being right than I am. Right now I am not seeing any potential for future defensive improvement, the way the team is built. In my mind a fundamental problem. Young pitching corps should be ok though. Maybe taking 2 of 3, or a sweep of Cleveland will be the needed therapy. Didn’t miss watching the Tigers today. Needed day off.
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Thought I was done for the night but a quick response to Tiger Fan’s comment. I agree with you and your picks of who should stay. I like Prince as a personality and he can swing the bat. But in my estimation he is over valued due to defensive limitations. Illich paid too much. If he was moved in some sort of deal, Illich would have to eat a chunk of his contract (a quarter of a billion dollars give or take). I’m not against keeping him, but only as an over paid, but excellent LH DH. Sorry. That’s the way I see it. And we still have Victor. I gotta confess, I’m very uncomfortable critiquing a player of his caliber.
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A defensive second baseman with a ton of range might be the next best answer to keeping Prince at first. Who would that be? Is there anyone currently on the team (Santiago?), in the system, or out there somewhere who would fit?

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